


Baptized By Fire

by audreyslove



Series: Family [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 05:44:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13540965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyslove/pseuds/audreyslove
Summary: Robin and Regina decide on the perfect godmother for their new daughter.





	Baptized By Fire

Mal has a soft spot for children.

This is a fact, open and clear as day for the world to see.

She's quite a contrast to Regina, who goes to great length to conceal her true feelings for others (her mother’s mantra of “love is weakness” has her hiding love as if it were the secret of what could break her, destroy her). Even with Henry, she is tight with the love she shows to him in public, preferring to spoil and shower him with affection in private.

It’s not that Regina looks _cold_ in public, just that you don’t fully realize the depths of what she will do for her loved ones, the amount of time she spends thinking of them, worrying about them, dreaming for them. Not as an outsider. Regina keeps love and emotion private.

But Robin understands why, they all do. Regina’s changing, little by little, but decades of viewing love as an achilles heel has taken its toll on her.

Mal never suffered through that. In fact, from what he's learned, she’s only suffered regrets of too few words spoken, too many loves that left before she ever got chance pour her heart out. So she’s vowed never to do that again. She speaks openly of her regrets, of the searing pain and nightmares she feels from missing Lily, of the overwhelming relief in seeing her safe and well. She even speaks of her love for Regina.

One day Mal and Lily fight at Granny’s, and Maleficent lets tears fall publicly down her cheeks as she begs her daughter to come back, to sit down, to stay, to let them work on this. It draws eyes, and maybe a few eyerolls from people who consider her dramatic, but if Mal sees them, she pays them no mind. She opens her heart unashamedly and embraces the full spectrum of feelings she has.

That’s courage. That’s strength. Even Robin admires it.

From the moment he had first returned from New York, Mal had been a fixture in their lives. Occasional dinners at Granny’s had turned into walks for dessert with Roland, into dinner parties where only Mal and Lily seemed to ever be invited. It had been clear to Robin from early on that Regina thought of Mal as family.

Mal had initially been wary of him, but he wasn’t phased by her coldness. Afterall, Marian’s family had reacted similarly when he first started dating her, and frankly, he quite liked the challenge of winning over those who seemed completely averse to him (his courtship with Regina being evidence of that).

So he had accepted Maleficent in his life, put up with her little put-downs and snarked her back. They had traded insults, rolled eyes and pointed stares, but even a few weeks into his stay in Storybrooke, he was fairly certain she already liked him, deep down inside.

But whereas it had taken awhile for Mal to warm up to Robin, the dragon’s heart had opened for his children immediately.

He's not surprised that she loved Roland. Who could not? Loving Roland is easy. Roland is a happy boy, all dimpled, sweet goodness, with the endorsement of the likes of Snow White. He’s pure, the product of good parents who loved one another. In the eyes of everyone, he is a perfect, good little boy.

But Robin’s daughter is a whole other matter. Even before she was born, there was talk of her curse, of a future that would be plagued with dark magic and an inability to love, of a corrupted heart and a dark soul.

But Maleficent paid no mind to the rumors and warnings. In fact, every whispered comment or pointed stare she caught was met with fierce words. Mal was her biggest defender, even before she was born.

Of course he understands now, why Mal feels so strongly connected to the child, why the issue was so important to her. Mal had lost her daughter because people feared her darkness, her potential for evil. And so perhaps a part of Mal sought to learn from that unfortunate lesson, and prevent history from repeating itself.

Mal offered her services to them, promised to protect the child at all cost from the “idiot villagers” who might threat her.

_“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Robin says immediately, “I’m sure no one would want to hurt a child.”_

_“You’d be surprised,” Mal drawls, “You’ve no idea what they are saying, and what they are capable of. Fear drives people to do crazy things, to see a monster in the most innocent of children.”_

_Her eyes never leave Regina as she says that, and it makes the woman flush red, and she’s ducking and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear in a way that makes her look so young, so innocent._

_“What exactly are you proposing?” Regina asks. There’s a small soft smile on her face that Robin hasn’t entirely seen before, and it intrigues him._

_“I’m offering the child my protection. I’ll always look out for her, if you let me in, I’ll always care for her.”_

_“Her?” Robin asks, skeptically, “we don’t even know—”_

_“Oh I know,” Mal waves, “I forgot you did not yet. You are having a daughter.”_

_“How do you—?”_

_“It’s a dragon thing,” Regina answers. It’s the first time he’s heard her answer like this (there will be many questions answered with these words in the future) and he's reminded that these two are connected in a special way, understand each other in a way few people do._

_“I’m just asking for you two to let me in,” Mal says slowly, “I won’t intrude on family business, but I think if you let me know her, care for her, I could help, I could—”_

_“You want to be involved in her life.” Regina looks slyly at her._

_Mal nods, and follows with a curt “For her protection.”_

_“Could you... give us a moment to discuss this?” Regina asks._

_Mal doesn’t hide emotions. She feels it’s all wasted energy. So she lets her face fall in disappointment before nodding and giving them space._

_Regina walks Robin into the study, shutting the door tight._

_“I realize you may have some… feelings about Maleficent being involved in the child’s life, especially given how difficult things already are and let me tell you—”_

_“Of the dragon who has burned villages and poisoned princesses?” He asks, unable to hide his smirk. “Now why would I ever have qualms about her caring for my child? Especially when the woman I love once had a penchant for the same activities?”_

_Regina cannot fight the giggle that bubbles out of her. Perhaps it is a bit dark to joke about this, but between them, it just works._

_“You don’t mind her involvement?” Regina asks._

_“I like her,” Robin shrugs, “I know she may not like me—”_

_“She likes you,” Regina assures, “she likes you more than she will admit.”_

_“That’s not Mal, she doesn’t hide the way she feels, if she liked me, I’d know—”_

_“Mal doesn’t know she likes you yet,” Regina says with a sigh, “she’s not as guarded with me but there are some walls up. And this is important to her. She lost a child. She wants to help prevent other children from being lost. Including yours. It’s important to her. And I…” she looks so nervous, so unsure, “I know this isn’t my daughter, and I have no right to ask…”_

_“You have every right to ask anything of me.” It is too soon to say it out loud, but he already wanted to ask her to be the mother to the baby, to assume the role he knows Zelena could not._

_“I was wondering if you might consider making Mal a godparent,” Regina says, then laughs at the idea. “I know, her history with godparents is… tricky. But I think it would be good for her, they are protectors, and that’s the role she wants, and given her history, and—”_

_He cuts off her rambling with a kiss._

_“A god-dragon. I like it.” And with that he takes her hand and leads her out of the study._

_“Mal,” he says, still holding Regina’s hand. “We have something to ask you.”_

_.::._

Regina isn’t one for ceremony. She hates weddings (of course, it has something to do with her own being so traumatic). She finds graduations far too full of frills and self-praise. She doesn’t care for religious rituals (if there is a god, or gods, she questions whether they would require a lily white dress and snacking on crackers for their souls to be saved). She believes in theatrics, sure, in making a grand entrance and a brilliant escape, but she’s never been much for following _tradition_.

So it surprises Mal at first, that she’s here, in town hall, in front of many people, having a little naming ceremony for their baby. Regina, the beautiful little spitfire that she is, had insisted upon it, insisted that the daughter of the hero Robin Hood deserved recognition.

But then Mal realizes that this is not about the ceremony but about the statement it makes about Regina’s relationship with Eliza. She’s telling the town not to mess with her. She's letting the villagers know that she, the Evil Queen, loves this child, will protect this child, and will not stand idly by if she is mistreated.

Mal knows the whispered insults and rumors get back to Regina, and hell, they have to hurt. These people don’t know her at all. They don’t know who she truly is. Because beyond the heavy mask of her past crimes and her frightening reputation is a timid girl who just wants a _family_ who love her, and who she can love, without any of the mind games and manipulation that came with her own. So of course she loves this baby, this innocent, new addition to Robin's life.

And so Regina's determination her own protective instincts, and strong, resilient heart bring them here, in the town hall, with a precious, fair-skinned, beautiful strawberry blonde infant.

The townspeople actually showed up. Perhaps out of fear, or out of sheer curiosity. Mal is sitting up there, on this ridiculous stage, amongst a group of people she isn’t quite sure she belongs to: Regina and her family, all three Charmings, Emma and the pirate. That ridiculous fat man who smells of sweat and wet earth is here too, and perhaps he's an odd man out too - but he’s Robin's very best friend, at least. He's raised Roland from an infant. But she and Lily… they just don't have the same ties to this family.

Zelena was afforded the option of attending (with magical cuffs and under the watchful eye of David, of course), but she declined. She’s not a mother. Mal can sense it. She may change one day, but that part of a woman that longs for their child, longs to care and love and nurture, it’s not in her.

Which is fine because it overflows in Regina.

“People of Storybrooke,” Regina calls out into the mic, as Robin stands next to her with his daughter, swaddled in pink blankets, held tightly in his arms.

The crowd dies down, loud shorts dying into low murmurs.

Before Regina can continue, Robin is tilting the baby in her direction, handing her over, and Maleficent’s heart nearly stops beating. Robin is a Locksley, a noble, who has no doubt been dragged to his fair share of naming ceremonies. Oh, he knew exactly what that simple gesture means, that change of hands of the baby.

It’s part of the ritual, of course. The child is to change hands, from father to mother before the name is revealed.

He just told the town, and Regina, all in one move, that he considers her to be the child’s mother.

Regina is taken aback, clearly, choked and at a loss for words. Maleficent sees the way her eyes shine and water. She can’t fault this idiotic man and his gigantic heart for much, but damn it, he probably should not have sprung the move on Regina like this. She doesn’t like to be emotional in front of others, she’s afraid to be vulnerable. In fact, it’s her biggest fear, other than losing a loved one.

But then perhaps….Mal tries for once to see things from this man’s perspective. Regina is stubborn and filled with self-doubt. She doesn’t see that she’s the best person for the job, and had Robin asked her to take on this role as mother before, Mal has no doubt that Regina would have argued, chased him away, denied and refused to hear him.

So, yes, maybe Mal was too quick to think the worst of Robin, and this was in fact the best way to bestow upon Regina the duties of a mother.

But now Regina can’t talk, she’s fighting tears and staring down at a baby while her lip quivers, Robin’s arm wrapping around her as he whispers things that thankfully a nearby mic does not pick up.

And Mal spots her first opportunity to protect her family.

She stands up, walking towards the mic when Henry stops her.

“I’ve got this.”

He walks towards the mic, while smiling at his mother sweetly.

“There’s a new addition to our family,” he says. It catches Mal’s breath, the way he says _our_ family.

It sounds like he’s referring to everyone sitting up here, though that can’t be true. Henry doesn’t see her as family yet.

“Her name is Eliza Cathryn Mills Locksley,” he says, looking back at his mom. “Her name is a tribute to the fact she is blessed, and chosen by us, and innocent.”

Mal watches as Henry looks over at his mom, who has regained some of her composure. She walks back to the mic to finish the ceremony.

It's a bit screwy now. Typically this ceremony would not be administered by a parent. But up until moments ago, Regina didn’t know she was a parent, so performing the ceremony did not seem all that odd.

“With us today are Eliza’s godparents, sworn to protect, and love, and care for Eliza should Rob— _we_ be unavailable.” Regina bites her lip, as she usually does when she tries to keep from crying. It works (always does) and she finishes.

“Maleficent, please rise.”

The town already knew, of course they did, but it still causes a commotion, nervous laughter and mumbled voices make her ears burn red. She reminds herself she does not terrorize villagers anymore. Now she’s got more important people to care for than herself.

“Do you promise to ensure that this child is never without love, and care, should...Rob— her _parents_ not be available.”

“With all my heart,” Mal responds, her eyes never leaving the beautiful baby in the arms of the woman she loves.

“Do you promise to protect her, care for her, and be a resource for her all her life?”

“This child shall want for nothing.” It’s part of the ceremony, but saying the words still make her misty-eyed.

Regina hands the baby to Mal, who takes her willingly, and plants a kiss on her forehead.

“I am forever yours, Eliza.”

Years later, Maleficent will cite this as the very moment she felt she joined Robin and Regina's family. And Regina will confess it is the first time she felt a true part of Robin’s family.

Maleficent cherishes that they became a family before she fell into bed with Robin and Regina, before drunken one night stands were repeated too often with too little alcohol.

It's special that they became a family together, outside of any romance. They were united by their love of children, by their belief in second chances, by the way they embraced and accepted both darkness and light.

And for someone who had been without a sense of belonging for centuries, it's all the more special.


End file.
